Meat Ball Run

Saturday, August 22

Amish Country

 

 

Greetings, ZBimmers!

 

Ready for some good old-fashioned hard-drivin’ and good eatin’?  Join the Meat Ball Run on Saturday, August 22, when Jeff and Kim Ball lead the ZBimmers down to Winesburg to pick out your dinner and then back to their grill to cook it! 

 

Here’s how Jeff describes the day:

 

The starting point for the Meat-Ball Run will be at the Einstein Brothers / Starbucks at ‘The Strip’ in North Canton. This is the Portage Street exit.  We plan to leave there at 9:00 AM, so go early if you'd like to enjoy a bagel and/or coffee.  
  
The first stop will be Best Meat Market in Ohio, Winesburg.  They are known for their smoked pork chops and premium quality steaks.  Other items worth noting include the smoked turkey, peppered bacon and fine Amish cheeses.  The meat sticks are also quite tasty.  We will arrive by 11:00 to avoid the mid-day crunch and to ensure they haven’t sold out of your favorites.

   
Pack a cooler with a method for keeping your meat chilled (or partner with someone with a cooler – we’re all related, you know) in order to preserve your meat purchase until dinner.
 
After stashing dinner in the cooler, we'll drive some scenic roads, working our way to the 2nd largest winery in Ohio.  After a short tour/tasting, maybe we can put a new favorite wine in the trunk to enjoy at dinner. 

 

Then the Meat Ball Run is off to downtown Canton. Not for football, but for candy -- Heggy’s Candy. If you like chocolate, caramels, or fresh deep fried nuts, this is the best.  Leave some room in that cooler to store chocolate!

 

The Meat Ball Run ends at the Ball residence in Kent.  Arrival is planned for sometime around 3:00.  There are no plans for a lengthy lunch stop, so you may want to pack a few snacks and drinks (meat sticks, wine, candy and nuts might be enough) to tide you over until the grill is ready for dinner.
 
There will be ample grill space for everyone to cook their meat to whatever level of doneness they desire.  We’ll also provide all the dinner fixins’ along with soft drinks, beer, wine, Margaritas, and other concoctions as the bartender sees fit.  Please feel free (but certainly not obligated) to bring your specialty side dish, a dessert to share, or your preferred ‘imbibement’.  Please be kind enough to send a quick email to either Cindy or Jeff at jeffball880@aim.com (even if you only just think you're coming) to help plan the fixin’s.  
 
Stay as long as you like! It’s Saturday night and we have plenty of bed and floor
space if necessary.  Weather permitting, we’ll crank up the fire pit and sing campfire songs into the wee hours.  No car wash event is planned at the time of writing of this drive summary, but then you never know!
 
To repeat...the Meat Ball Run leaves ‘The Strip” in Canton at 9:00 AM.  Bring a cooler for your dinner meat (and possibly chocolates) plus any extras for the meal.  Be sure you know the words to Kum-Ba-Yah, just in case!

 

Here's the standard boilerplate for the Meat Ball Run.  Please join us for the entire trip or just the part that's convenient for you.  Bring along all the Zs that you can find.  Dress appropriately for the temperature because we drive regardless of weather.  Don't forget sunscreen and sun glasses if it's bright.  Have a full tank of gas to start the drive.  Bring your Talkabouts tuned to channel 7,5.  Be sure the camera has batteries or film.  Remember your tank of gas donation for Make A Wish.  Contributions now total $16,634!  Do visit zbimmers.org for more information and history of our adventures.

 

Looking forward to seeing everyone on the 22nd and driving some more miles together!

 

Jeff, Kim and Cindy